Thailand COC Seeks Further Amnesty For Foreigners

[audaciousnomad]

Google this search term for the article:
Chamber of Commerce seeks visa amnesty for tourists

It's great to hear that there are many Thais who really do want us to stay here longer. They have expressed upwards that they are grateful for the farangs who stayed behind and continue supporting their businesses rather than flee back to their home countries.

People here are fighting for us !!!!  ???? 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by audaciousnomad

[Ohyesuare]

It's kind of late isn't it? Many who couldn't or didn't want to get a visa would have already gone home or made arrangements to.

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

It's kind of late isn't it? Many who couldn't or didn't want to get a visa would have already gone home or made arrangements to.

Numbers at immigration over the last few days counter that.

It would seem unlikely they will do an about loss of face now, unlesss International pressure is brought to bear, they seem to react to that better than domestic criticism.

Given some time it will not make a difference...... or maybe. In a months time, those who just obtained their one and only Embassy letter will be back in the queues.

Edited September 26, 2020 by jacko45k

[audaciousnomad]

6 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

It's kind of late isn't it? Many who couldn't or didn't want to get a visa would have already gone home or made arrangements to.

Probably a diplomatic decision. My guess would be they didn't want to step on any toes of some more powerful people in the govt, prior to the 26th deadline. 

My opinion only.

Edited September 26, 2020 by audaciousnomad

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post meant to deflect the topic and a expected reply to it have been removed.

[BigStar]

38 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

Google this search term for the article:
Chamber of Commerce seeks visa amnesty for tourists

It's great to hear that there are many Thais who really do want us to stay here longer. They have expressed upwards that they are grateful for the farangs who stayed behind and continue supporting their businesses rather than flee back to their home countries.

Problem is, TVF Economists have already thoroughly discredited and sneered at the Thai COC for daring say the contraction of fourth quarter GDP may lessen by a modest 2-3 per cent. For example,

 

 

So we'll have to refuse any extensions that may arise owing to their help, sorry. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by BigStar

[Walker88]

The seeming end of the amnesty has probably allowed Immigration to get a good handle on how many Tourists and Border Runners remain in Thailand, and also where these folks are staying (at least on the day they applied for an extension). As the 26th-28th comes and goes, Imm can add how many have departed.

 

In essence, these easy extensions were just a tacit amnesty extension, albeit with the small contribution to the coffers of 1900 baht. Now that they have that in order.....

 

The virus is picking up steam again as temps cool in the Northern Hemisphere. There are also some reports saying the virus might be mutating into a more easily-catchable and perhaps virulent form. Research remains scant as most places are still dealing with the here and now of the infected.

 

If infection rates soar in a 2nd Wave, borders will tighten additionally and flights may well stop. It is conceivable that now, with reduced numbers of Tourists/BRs and that good handle on how many are left, a new amnesty could be granted, particularly if the Thai economy stays weak and TAT and CoC has the ear of the PM and Cabinet.

 

If this happens, no doubt there will be gnashing of teeth and clutching of pearls among some members of the expat community, but the virus is in charge in this world today, and everything we all once thought was set in stone turns out to be penciled-in only.

[audaciousnomad]

2 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Problem is, TVF Economists have already thoroughly discredited and sneered at the Thai COC for daring say the contraction of fourth quarter GDP may lessen by a modest 2-3 per cent. 

 

So we'll have to refuse any extensions that may arise owing to their help, sorry. 

We've got survive before we can thrive.  So if a change in stance will help us extend further, I'm grateful for it. All things considered, I have more confidence to be able to get back on solid footing by waiting it out here rather than in those other countries(including my own) who have crashed and burned spectacularly in managing the health of both their citizens and their economies.

[greggraham]

So they raised the issue 3 times, including recently with the PM and the Interior Ministry, and were told it's "in the process", but nothing happened. ????

[impulse]

Why do they need another amnesty extension?

 

They've already implemented pretty much perpetual 30 day extensions for anyone who can produce a letter from their embassy or a medical certificate indicating they can't or shouldn't fly out.  Seems like the only real difference is that the extensions aren't automatic.  You have to take some action and pay for the each 30 days.

 

Long term visa/extension holders haven't been denied extensions they qualified for.  Agents and Thai Elite Visa purchases have taken up a lot of the slack for people on the fringes.   I'm sure that leaves some good people out in the cold, but not many in the target demographics.  Mostly folks that don't meet the requirements for the visa they'd like, regardless of Covid.

 

It's interesting that the article in the source that can't be linked indicates that 70% of the foreigners they're trying to keep are Chinese, with "others being from Japan and Europe".  So, western foreigners are just a small part of the equation, in spite of all the protestations about us being crucial to propping up the Thai economy.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not against extending the amnesty.  But any reasonable discussion needs to start from an understanding of the actual situation.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by impulse

[audaciousnomad]

6 minutes ago, greggraham said:

So they raised the issue 3 times, including recently with the PM and the Interior Ministry, and were told it's "in the process", but nothing happened. ????

I noticed too. It gave me the impression that the CoC is not on a level playing field with others in the hierarchy of govt here. They are more of a mouthpiece for small and medium enterprises in Thailand, but not having much leverage in terms of "moving the earth" here.  But at least we can see that we are not alone in our thinking that us remaining here indeed does help prop up the economy. Maybe if they keep squeaking, then the amnesty gear will get its oil again. ????

[Pib]

The "amnesty" party is over as of close of business 26 Sep/Sat (well, maybe 28 Sep/Mon at some immigration offices).   

 

Over the past few weeks it should have been obvious as the nose on your face that if a person needed/wanted to stay in Thailand they were going to have to get the appropriate visa/extension.  The government was simply not interested in providing another amnesty extension period.  

 

[audaciousnomad]

51 minutes ago, Pib said:

The "amnesty" party is over as of close of business 26 Sep/Sat (well, maybe 28 Sep/Mon at some immigration offices).   

 

Over the past few weeks it should have been obvious as the nose on your face that if a person needed/wanted to stay in Thailand they were going to have to get the appropriate visa/extension.  The government was simply not interested in providing another amnesty extension period.  

 

There was a party?  Didn't get an invite. ???? 

[bjaz]

40 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

Over the past few weeks it should have been obvious as the nose on your face that if a person needed/wanted to stay in Thailand they were going to have to get the appropriate visa/extension.  The government was simply not interested in providing another amnesty extension period.  

 

Yes - not knowing Thailand well, I must say I was still a little surprised that the government didn't implement some kind of official temporary regulation amendement to allow allow foreigners to simply pay to stay (tourists and non-tourists).

It would have seemed like the most lucrative and simple option, but I guess there are other parties/interests involved.

In ASEAN, Indonesia, where I would be working now under normal circumstances, did just that: temporary regulatory amendmenets allowing both short-term and long-term visa holders (who were initially allowed to stay on free and automatic, "emergency stay permit") to do an onshore conversion of all visa types to the long-stay b211 "social visa" (for tourism and social purposes), with paying monthly extensions, allowing for 6 month stay in normal times, unlimited "until the emergency is deemed over" in current circumstances.

Immigration also recently extended the deadline for said conversion (directly at immigrasi or through private agents) by yet another month to make sure people had time to get all stamped up.

 

In Thailand, the current options given to foreigners unable extend their stay through standard channels, embassy letters or "medical" certificates-based extensions, or agent issued long-stay permits seem quite grey-area and complicated processes in comparison.

[finy]

They were alway so going to extend the amnesty after 26th.

 

Good luck to everyone.

 

I’m going to drown my sorrows in magic truffles in Amsterdam.

[audaciousnomad]

1 minute ago, finy said:

They were alway so going to extend the amnesty after 26th.

 

Good luck to everyone.

 

I’m going to drown my sorrows in magic truffles in Amsterdam.

It does feel like there is some kind of "phased purging" process going on. ???? 

[2530Ubon]

Well the TAT said STV visa holders will arrive in October, perhaps they are going to move everyone who's on embassy letters/ valid extensions of stay onto this, as i don't see many people arriving for a 2 week quarantine. - From which countries are these STV holders supposed to arrive from? They've already excluded most European countries and America.

I think firstly, they wanted everyone to get registered at IO prior to announcing people can convert to this. There's no way Immigration can continue with the embassy letters, getting swamped at the middle and end of each month for the 2 stamp method. This seems like a more reasonable course of action....IF this is what happens. I'm sure everyone acknowledges that there isn't a need for a further amnesty, just a visa that we can apply for without the 'assistance' method of a brown envelope.

Edited September 26, 2020 by 2530Ubon

[fondue zoo]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

They've already implemented pretty much perpetual 30 day extensions for anyone who can produce a letter from their embassy or a medical certificate indicating they can't or shouldn't fly out.  Seems like the only real difference is that the extensions aren't automatic.  You have to take some action and pay for the each 30 days.

I agree but many have had to wrestle the letter from their respective embassies, and allegedly some countries only complied in the last week.

They may be allowing unlimited extensions with the letter but some embassies appear to resent having to supply said letters. It may be difficult for those with genuine circumstances affecting their leaving the country to get a second or third letter.

[greggraham]

18 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:

I agree but many have had to wrestle the letter from their respective embassies, and allegedly some countries only complied in the last week.

They may be allowing unlimited extensions with the letter but some embassies appear to resent having to supply said letters. It may be difficult for those with genuine circumstances affecting their leaving the country to get a second or third letter.

Also some IO's want a letter less than 30 days old, so the same one can't be reused. 

[Benitostacos]

I doubt there will be another amnesty, but there might be some type of announcement made on Tuesday after the next cabinet meeting. I've heard about and personally witnessed the massive lines at the immigration offices, but I've heard very little about the situation at Swampy. Are folks even flying out? 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Benitostacos

[audaciousnomad]

7 minutes ago, Benitostacos said:

I doubt there will be another amnesty, but there might be some type of announcement made on Tuesday after the next cabinet meeting. I've heard and personally witnessed the massive lines at the immigration offices, but I've heard little about the situation at Swampy. Are folks even flying out? 

If 2nd wave outbreak happens, they will be forced to issue new amnesty or make this new STV available to us so we don't have to overwhelm offices every 30 days. ???? 

[CorpusChristie]

4 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

People here are fighting for us !!!! 

Will you be going on overstay from tomorrow ?

[2530Ubon]

4 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

If 2nd wave outbreak happens, they will be forced to issue new amnesty or make this new STV available to us so we don't have to overwhelm offices every 30 days. ???? 

Every 15 days... people are only getting an 'under consideration' stamp and then have to come back for the rest

[audaciousnomad]

2 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Will you be going on overstay from tomorrow ?

Nope. Got my extension Wednesday.
 

 

[jackdd]

3 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Every 15 days... people are only getting an 'under consideration' stamp and then have to come back for the rest

When picking up your final stamp after 15 days, you can apply for the next 30 day extension while you are already there.

At least in April CM told me that this will be possible (was then not required due to the "amnesty" though).

So your second visit is after 15 days, but after this it should be one visit every 30 days.

[2530Ubon]

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

When picking up your final stamp after 15 days, you can apply for the next 30 day extension while you are already there.

At least in April CM told me that this will be possible (was then not required due to the "amnesty" though).

So your second visit is after 15 days, but after this it should be one visit every 30 days.

That's good to know! Thanks ????. I used my regular extension last week, but applied for an embassy letter (UK) just in case. They told me i could only have one letter so it's useless now, and i don't think i can apply for another one! I think British citizens may have some difficulty applying for letters from now on. Here's hoping for an announcement soon.

[trucking]

19 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

People here are fighting for us !!!! 

 

After the event. A bit late to make a difference now.

[FlyingThai]

23 minutes ago, jackdd said:

When picking up your final stamp after 15 days, you can apply for the next 30 day extension while you are already there.

At least in April CM told me that this will be possible (was then not required due to the "amnesty" though).

So your second visit is after 15 days, but after this it should be one visit every 30 days.

I wonder how quickly people will run out of space in their passports! ????

 

I'm sure Immigration will find a way to make the process as difficult as possible. This revolving door extension principle won't prevail for long.

[Pib]

8 hours ago, bjaz said:

Yes - not knowing Thailand well, I must say I was still a little surprised that the government didn't implement some kind of official temporary regulation amendement to allow allow foreigners to simply pay to stay (tourists and non-tourists).

It would have seemed like the most lucrative and simple option, but I guess there are other parties/interests involve

 

Such folks are not what Thailand is looking for in tourists.  They want the one or two week millionaires....well, they are not really millionaires but act/spend like it for one or two weeks each year during their annual vacation and then they go back home.   

 

Other folks who want to stay here as long as they can generally do not (or can not) spend like millionaires...in fact, they may not have much more money to spend than many Thais.  

 

[2530Ubon]

8 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

Such folks are not what Thailand is looking for in tourists.  They want the one or two week millionaires....well, they are not really millionaires but act/spend like it for one or two weeks each year during their annual vacation and then they go back home.   

 

Other folks who want to stay here as long as they can generally do not (or can not) spend like millionaires...in fact, they may not have much more money to spend than many Thais.  

 

Actually that's not true, here's who they want - from the horses mouth (Tourism Authority of Thailand);

 

"Mrs Srisuda said the agency also needs to extend the long-stay target from retirees to other groups with the potential to stay in Thailand for longer than one month.

"We're aiming for digital nomads and healthcare seekers. They are often younger and can work remotely from anywhere," she said. "Before the pandemic, seaside Thai destinations already welcomed a substantial amount of digital nomads. If we can provide safety measures, they will consider coming back again."

21st of September 2020

Edited September 26, 2020 by 2530Ubon